BRATISLAVA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia finished its preparation for the upcoming 2020 European Football Championship (Euro) with a 0-0 draw against its neighbor Austria on Sunday at the Ernst Happel stadium in the capital city of Vienna.
It was the fifth clash between the two teams and it ended in the third draw. Both teams have registered a win each.
Slovakia is struggling in the striker department, losing David Strelec to injury in the previous friendly against Bulgaria, and only a couple of minutes into the match against Austria, forward Ivan Schranz had to be substituted with an injury, deepening the concerns of head coach Stefan Tarkovic.
"I am not happy about Schranz's injury. We are having a hard time on offense. I have an idea about the roster for the first Euro match against Poland but there is still more than a week's time to decide. I was pleasantly surprised by several guys coming off the bench today, although I expected more from Duris. A striker has to score given the opportunity," explained Tarkovic after the match.
Schranz was substituted for Michal Duris who had the best scoring opportunity of the whole match in the 74th minute when he found himself head-to-head with Austria's goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann after a mistake by the defense, but the AC Omonia striker's shot was stopped at the last moment by one of the home team's defenders although the referee did not award a penalty kick.
Austria was the more active team, launching a total of 18 shots but only 5 were on target, and two of them bounced off the post. The rest were saved by Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka who kept Slovakia afloat.
"Both teams could have won today. I am glad we put more effort into it in the second half. The draw is a solid result against a solid opponent," Dubravka expressed after the game.
Slovakia will face Poland, Sweden, and Spain in Group E at Euro 2020.
Austria - Slovakia 0-0
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